i want to build a sturdy predator proof fence with cattle panels and chicken wire, and i want it to look pretty with roses and raspberries growing along it so that they eventually obscure the panel... anyone done this? pictures?

I dont have a weasel problem atm and weve had chickens a long time, this is just for their yard, not their coop which will be a similar fort knox design as out other is

I figured the panel would hold up stable wise, the chicken wire is actually more to keep young/small chickens from slipping through and ill extend it out along the ground to prevent diggers. Part of my choice for both the berries and roses is the roses are pretty, and the raspberries add a special supplement for the chickies, im planting food bushes and little gardens for them also inside to keep them from totally digging up the grass, its going to be a pretty reasonably sized area also... But also they both have some pretty fierce thorns, and i read that planting squash along a perimeter will keep coons out of your veggie garden cause they wont walk on the leaves, ao i was thinking that if that works, then thorns should also but while we do have coons, we have not had problems with them we also make sure to leave a trap set at all times just in case, fox is where we have problems, occationally we do have hawks, but im working out the landscaping to make more hidey places...

But i guess part of what im unsure of is, is should i plant the bushes , berry/rose/berry/rose, or have the berries in the back to climb, and the roses in front, or the other way around, and buy climbing bushes .... idk! :z

We grow raspberries and blackberries in our garden and the do not climb. Using a wire trellis, like a clothes line, we have to tie the shoots up using hemp as they grow, if not, they just flop on the ground and root and spread like wild fire. And then at the end of the season they have to be pruned back dramatically so that they will have healthy productive growth the following year. I would not recommend them as a fence cover, especially if your going to be mixing roses into the bunch, IMO it would make for a painful project every year pruning things out.

From the sounds of what your trying to do, I would consider grapes instead of raspberries or blackberries. The chooks will eat the grapes but stay away from the leaves, and the plant vines and climbs very well.

Both options however loose all of their leaves in the fall, so in winter you will see the fence either way. If you like flowers, and are not planning on growing the berries for you to eat, maybe plant something like morning glories instead, which climb well, grow fast, and the girls love them.